BRAZIL continue their Copa America adventure with a clash against Peru.
Neymar and Co got off to a winning start last time out against Venezuela, while the visitors are playing their first game in the tournament.
- Start time: 1am BST
- TV channel/live stream: BBC Red Button/iPlayer
- Brazil XI: 23 Emerson; 2 Danilo, 14 Militao, 3 Silva, 6 Sandro; 9 Jesus, 15 Fabinho, 8 Fred, 19 Everton; 21 Barbosa, 10 Neymar
- Peru XI: 1 Gallese; 3 Corzo, 15 Ramos, 2 Abram, 16 Lopez; 13 Tapia, 19 Yotun; 19 Carrillo, 10 Cueva, 8 Pena; 9 Lapadula
Follow all the latest updates with our live blog below…
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When is Brazil vs Peru?
- This Copa America group stage clash will be held on Friday, June 18.
- Kick-off is at 1am BST.
Which TV channel and live stream can I watch it on?
You can catch all of this game live on the BBC Red Button.
Every match of the tournament is being shown on free-to-air TV in the UK.
Viewers can also stream by heading to the BBC iPlayer.
- Kostas Lianos
BRAZIL 0-0 PERU
8 Peru are trying to freeze tempo by holding on to the ball as much as possible, even in defence.
Manager Gareca's priority is not to let Brazil get too much of the ball and dominate the same way they did against Venzuela
- Kostas Lianos
BRAZIL 0-0 PERU
5 Brazil manager Tite has made quite a few changes, but no one can blame him as he has such quality options in all positions.
The Selecao are slowly trying to impose their dominance in possession and tempo
- Kostas Lianos
BRAZIL 0-0 PERU
2 And another quick reminder:
Peru manager Ricardo Gareca appears to have opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation for the national team's first Copa America match.
Pedro Gallese starts in goal with Aldo Corzo at right-back and Marcos Lopez on the other side, while Christian Ramos and Luis Abram team up at centre-back.
Renato Tapia and Yoshimar Yotun link up in midfield, with Sergio Pena at No10.
Andre Carrillo covers the right flank with Christian Cueva on the other sides, while Gianluca Lapadula leads the attack
- Kostas Lianos
BRAZIL 0-0 PERU
1 Just a quick reminder:
Brazil manager Tite appears to have opted for a 4-4-2 formation with six changes to the team that beat Venezuela.
Ederson replaces Alisson between the sticks whereas Danilo covers right-back with Alex Sandro, on for Renan Lodi, on the other side, while captain Thiago Silva takes Marquinhos' place at centre-back and teams up with Eder Militao.
Gabriel Jesus plays on the right wing with Everton, who replaces Casemiro, on the other side, while Fabinho, on for Lucas Paqueta, and Fred link up in midfield.
Neymar and Gabriel Barbosa, who replaces Richarlison, lead the attack
- Kostas Lianos
PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
AND OFF WE GO IN RIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Kostas Lianos
HERE COME THE TEAMS!!!
The Olympic Stadium is set to host the Copa America clash between Brazil and Peru.
The Selecao are being led out to the pitch by captain Thiago Silva whereas Pedro Gallese dons his country's armband.
Of course, the game is going to take place behind closed doors due to coronavirus restrictions in Brazil.
Not long to go now!
GETTY IMAGES - Kostas Lianos
COPA AMERICA CRISIS
The Copa America was originally scheduled to take place in Colombia and Argentina but plans changed due to social unrest and a surge of coronavirus cases respectively.
CONMEBOL then shockingly decided to move the competition to Brazil, which has been stricken by both of the aforementioned issues.
So far, over 493,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil – the second highest tally in the world – and at the same time hundreds of thousands of protestors have taken to the streets demonstrating against the mishandling of the virus by controversial president Jair Bolsonaro.
The Selecao looked like they would pull out of the tournament in protest as soon as they had completed their last two World Cup qualifiers.
According to The Guardian, however, that didn't sit well with the president or the Brazilian football federation, who were reportedly ready to sack Tite and replace him with Bolsonaro supporter Renato Gaucho.
But pressure from sponsors made the football federation place their confidence back on Tite – who's only lost four out of all 55 matches in charge of the Selecao – whereas Bolsonaro stated he will not interfere.
The players ultimately decided against a boycott and declared: "We are against organising the Copa America, but we will never say no to the Brazilian national team"
GETTY IMAGES - Kostas Lianos
PERU STATS
Peru are set for their first Copa America match in a group where they and Brazil have also been drawn with Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
Ricardo Gareca's men will be coming in with some newfound confidence as they finally picked up a win in their most recent match against Ecuador in the World Cup qualifiers.
That marked their first victory after an eight-match winless streak, which saw them losing six times along the way.
In fact, the Peruvians suffered four losses in a row until they beat Ecuador last week and haven't picked up a clean sheet since September 2019 when they won for the last time against Brazil
GETTY IMAGES - Kostas Lianos
BRAZIL STATS
Brazil have been enjoying a brilliant run as they haven’t lost a single match since November 2019 when they were beaten by Argentina 1-0 in an international friendly.
Since then, the Selecao have won all of their next eight matches across all competitions.
Tite’s men have also scored a staggering 22 goals along the way and conceded a mere two.
Brazil also top the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table with a perfect record of six wins out of six games
GETTY IMAGES
- Kostas Lianos
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Brazil and Peru's first ever meeting took place way back in the 1963 Copa America when the Selecao won 1-0 thanks to Flavio's winner.
Since then, the two sides have faced off a total of 30 times with the Brazilians winning a whopping majority of 20 matches compared to the Peruvians' mere four victories.
Their most recent Copa America clash took place in 2019 during the last tournament's final, which Tite's men won 3-1 at the Maracana.
The Brazilians will be feeling especially confident tonight as they also won their most recent World Cup qualifier against Ricardo Gareca's men with a score of 4-2 in Lima
GETTY IMAGES - Kostas Lianos
PERU FORMATION
Peru manager Ricardo Gareca appears to have opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation for the national team's first Copa America match.
Pedro Gallese starts in goal with Aldo Corzo at right-back and Marcos Lopez on the other side, while Christian Ramos and Luis Abram team up at centre-back.
Renato Tapia and Yoshimar Yotun link up in midfield, with Sergio Pena at No10.
Andre Carrillo covers the right flank with Christian Cueva on the other sides, while Gianluca Lapadula leads the attack
- Kostas Lianos
BRAZIL FORMATION
Brazil manager Tite appears to have opted for a 4-4-2 formation with six changes to the team that beat Venezuela.
Ederson replaces Alisson between the sticks whereas Danilo covers right-back with Alex Sandro, on for Renan Lodi, on the other side, while captain Thiago Silva takes Marquinhos' place at centre-back and teams up with Eder Militao.
Gabriel Jesus plays on the right wing with Everton, who replaces Casemiro, on the other side, while Fabinho, on for Lucas Paqueta, and Fred link up in midfield.
Neymar and Gabriel Barbosa, who replaces Richarlison, lead the attack
- Kostas Lianos
PERU BENCH
12 Caceda, 21 Carvallo, 26 Lora, 5 Araujo, 4 Santamaria, 22 Callens, 25 Garces, 23 Arias, 7 Tavara, 24 Garcia, 17 Iberico, 11 Valera
- Kostas Lianos
BRAZIL BENCH
1 Alisson, 12 Weverton, 13 Emerson, 16 Lodi, 4 Marquinhos, 5 Casemiro, 25 Luiz, 11 Ribeiro, 17 Paqueta, 18 Vinicius, 7 Richarlison, 20 Firmino
- Kostas Lianos
PERU XI
1 Gallese; 3 Corzo, 15 Ramos, 2 Abram, 16 Lopez; 13 Tapia, 19 Yotun; 19 Carrillo, 10 Cueva, 8 Pena; 9 Lapadula
- Kostas Lianos
BRAZIL XI
23 Emerson; 2 Danilo, 14 Militao, 3 Silva, 6 Sandro; 9 Jesus, 15 Fabinho, 8 Fred, 19 Everton; 21 Barbosa, 10 Neymar
- Kostas Lianos
THE TEAM SHEETS ARE IN!!!
- Kostas Lianos
GOOD EVENING FROM RIO
Welcome to our live coverage of the Copa America group stage match between hosts Brazil and Peru at the Olympic Stadium.
The Selecao kicked off their campaign with a decisive 3-0 win over Venezuela on Monday with goals by Marquinhos, Neymar and Gabriel Barbosa.
Manager Tite isn't dealing with any significant issues ahead of the team's second match of the tournament and instead has many options to choose from.
However, it is safe to assume that the Brazilian boss will not be making any major changes following a solid display against Jose Peseiro's team.
Therefore, Neymar is expected to start again along with various Premier League stars, such as Liverpool's Alisson, Manchester United's Fred, Everton's Richarlison and Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus.
Paris Saint-Germain star Marquinhos is also set to be part of the starting line-up and will partner up with Real Madrid ace Eder Militao.
Despite his goal against Venezuela, Barbosa is most likely to start on the bench with Neymar, Richarlison and Jesus leading the attack.
Peru manager Ricardo Gareca, on the other hand, appears more keen on developing young talent lately and that is why he has omitted several key players like Raul Ruidiaz and Paolo Guerrero.
However, Al-Fateh ace Christian Cueva is still expected to start and should be joined by Emmen star Sergio Pena in Gareca's starting line-up
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